Cavafy Poetry Collection, the poet of Alexandria

Overview of the book: In Alexandria, was born, lived, and died the Alexandrian poet of Greek origin "Constantine P. Cavafy", the greatest Greek poets of contemporary times, and the most prominent Alexandrian poets ever, if we overlook his poetry language Greek. He is the son of Alexandria born and raised and lived. And bid farewell "Cavafy" to the world at the age of seventy, during which he did not leave the bride of the sea, fighting his longing for the homeland of the ancestors first, he is drawn to it by language, roots, and history, and the waves of the sea connect him to the homeland of the ancestors in the north, with every sunrise and sunset, and Alexandria surrounds many acquaintances and friends who preferred to stay with the bride of the Mediterranean. In Cairo, and after fifty-six years, from the death of "Cavafy", the complete poetry collection of "Cavafy" was published for the first time. Translated from Greek by full translation the novelist and critic "Naeem Atiya". And published in a book that reached (272) pages, and the book included (154) poems, most of them are verse poetry, like most Western poets. The poetic verse is always more penetrating, focused, condensed, insightful, and its history spans between the years: 1911 and 1933. And between them, sporadic years, sometimes separate, sometimes consecutive, in which the poet did not write a single poem. The poems of this collection, from the book, occupy only one hundred and forty pages, the rest of the pages were dedicated by Dr. "Naeem Atiya" to a short introduction about the poet's life and poetry, and one hundred and fifty-four footnotes about "Cavafy"'s poems, and what they contain of references, symbols, dates, and a critical reading, which is a critical and interpretive vision, and some explanations of "Cavafy"'s poems. So the book is not only a translation effort, but also a history, critique, interpretation, appreciation, and vision, which is the ultimate goal that both the translator and the reader of the translation aspire to. It is strange that the translation of "Cavafy"'s Alexandrian poems into Arabic was delayed fifty-five years, except for some scattered poems, previously translated by Naeem Atiya, along with other Greek poets' poems, and published in several issues of the "Cultural Library" series issued by the Egyptian Book Authority, at a time when many of "Cavafy"'s poems had been translated into many foreign languages, including: French, Italian, and German, and at a time when the pages of the "Alexandria Quadriptych" by the contemporary Alexandrian novelist "Laurence Daryl" were filled not with talk about "Cavafy", as a soaring spirit for the heart of Alexandria that beats. Cavafy.. lover of Alexandria In Alexandria in 1863, on April 17, was born "Cavafy" and in Alexandria he lived his entire life until the last farewell, witnessing in his youth, at the age of sixteen, the treacherous British invasion of Alexandria in 1882, and its bombardment, and this invasion reminded him of the Roman invasion of it in ancient centuries. And when he grew up, he refused to emigrate from Alexandria, rejecting all invitations to live in "Athens", and he wrote, while under forty, his poem: "The City" about this meaning: "I said: "I will go to another land and I will go to another sea, another city will be better than this, all my attempts are doomed to fail, and my heart is buried like the dead. How long will my mind remain sad? Wherever I look, wherever I see around, I see black ruins of my life, where many years I spent have been destroyed and scattered. You will not find other countries or seas. The city will pursue you and wander in the same streets, and you will realize the fatigue. Old age in these neighborhoods with the same eyes and in the same houses. Gray hair will reach your head. You will always arrive at this city. Do not hope for other places. No ship is for you, and no way, and as long as you have ruined your life here in this small corner, it is ruin wherever you are." Life journey "Cavafy" was the youngest of nine children, and before him, there was one sister, so "Cavafy" was the beautiful, spoiled little son of his mother, after the death of his little sister, she dressed him in girls' clothes, cut his hair, braided it like girls, and treated him throughout his childhood as a girl, and people thought he was a beautiful child, cared for by a beautiful mother. So "Cavafy" was a shy, introverted boy, dependent on his mother and the servants always, with a nurse and a private teacher, living with them in the large family house on "Sherif" Street in Alexandria. He knew English and French as well as Greek. Until the age of sixteen, "Cavafy" remained confined to the house, luxury, care, and isolation, reading under chandeliers at night, and sunlight behind curtains during the day, books that took him on distant travels and ancient times, in literature, sciences, and history. He could not bear to be away from his mother, her will was his life, his existence, and his will as well. His father, the merchant, was busy with his trade in grains, crops, and cotton gins he owned, and his projects, deals, and growing his large wealth. During his first fifteen years, "Cavafy" witnessed much of the wealth dissipate before his father's death, and he gained a love for the Greek community and served it, and he distanced himself from the court and the English alike. At sixteen, after his father's death, his mother enrolled him in the Alexandria Commercial School. Despite his introversion and shyness, he excelled among his peers through his reading and intelligence, and he was influenced by his teacher "Constantine P. Pappas", the school principal, who held a doctorate in history and philosophy from German universities. He was a teacher who loved discipline and obedience, always praising "Cavafy" for the heroism of ancient Greece, and encouraged him to read history books, which appeared in his poetry, and his fascination with this history and historical dictionaries. Once only, "Cavafy" left Alexandria with his family. To Istanbul, after the British invasion, and stayed with his grandfather there, but he soon returned to his beloved city, Alexandria (1885), and was forced to work as a translator in the English irrigation inspection, and his mother left him alone in Alexandria (1899), at the age of thirty-two, after which he left Alexandria with his siblings and loved ones, remaining alone with loneliness, attached to Alexandria and its sea, never leaving them. His poetry echoed in Greece, and the poets: "Angelo Sigiilia Nous" and "Lampros Porphiras", invited him to "Athens" but he did not respond, and he left work (1922), preferring solitude, and he reached the age of fifty-five, where he stayed in his small apartment in a modest house in the "Koum Dikka" neighborhood, for the last twenty-five years of his life. He did not like people's chatter or small minds, he lit only one candle at night, and only lit another for a dear guest. He experienced "boredom" as much as possible. "The monotonous day follows another similar monotonous day, things will happen, then they will happen again, and tomorrow will sacrifice itself as if there was nothing in tomorrow" (boredom).... "If you cannot make your life as you want, at least try as much as you can, do not belittle it by frequent contact with others.